Our selection for today is "Autumn in the Ancient Capital" (故都的秋) a short piece of non-fiction written by Yu Dafu (郁达夫, 1895-1945) that describes the author's love for autumn in Beijing. This story is often taught in creative writing classes, and what's notable about it is the way it describes Beijing in intimate detail. Part of the story's seduction might be due to its wonderful use of adjectives, particularly as verb complements. Internalize this and watch the quality of your own writing spike upwards.As for the subject matter? A quick office poll confirms that late autumn is our preferred time of year around here. There's something special about a quiet walk through the hutongs on those near-winter days when your breath almost hangs in the air and Beijing becomes like a city out of time.
barrister
said on May 20, 2009
Excellent choice and very well written. Good to have another story that is not Dream of the Red Chamber as well. I like to put these on my iPod as I find they're more challenging to listen to than a lot of the dialogues. 书面语 and all.
Echo
said on May 21, 2009
@barrister,Glad to hear that you like it. It is actually one of my favorite stories written in that period of time.It sounds extremely 亲切 for me when the writer described Beijing(我老家)and used 北京话. The autumn is really the best season in Beijing too.--Echoecho@popupchinese.com
winslowtt
said on May 21, 2009
Which bits of the story are Beijinghua? Just the section at the end where he quotes people talking during the storm, or is the written language specific to Beijing as well?
Echo
said on May 21, 2009
@winslowtt,
一部分是你说的这样,另一部分是因为这篇文章已经写了好几十年,但是现在读起来,很多描写修饰的词句和现在人们用的差不多,是非常标准的普通话,不像其他一些南方作家在写作时会加入一些南方方言。所以我读起来感觉非常亲切。
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
Gail天堂的声音
said on May 22, 2009
我觉得这是郁达夫写的最好的一篇文章了,非常自然、生动,而且贴近生活。郁达夫的小说写得没有散文好,我非常喜欢这篇散文。
drummerboy
said on April 30, 2012
I believe the recording says "我的不远万里" however, the text reads "我的不远千里" just curious which is correct? Thanks :-)
amber
said on May 2, 2012
@drummerboy, “我的不远千里” is correct. From 杭州 to 青岛 doesn't have 万里,haha.--Amberamber@popupchinese.com
drummerboy
said on June 29, 2012
This provides some additional insight on this wonderful piece, albeit the speaker is not the most exciting. http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjIyMzU0Mjg4.html